“When I remember the birth of my baby boy, Liam, I continue to find myself still in the moment with an overwhelming feeling of awe. The phrases that come to mind are respected, undisturbed, quiet, calm, extremely intense, in the present moment, positive, educated, informed supported, deeply cared for, confidence in my body... and I can go on and on. In summary, I will forever remember my birthing experience as one of the most awe-inspiring and positive experiences of my life. I know that this is sadly not common and that the majority of woman giving birth in our risk-adverse healthcare system of today are left feeling less than positive and frequently emotions and memories quite opposite to mine.
I attribute 100% of our experience to having Cheryl by our side during my pregnancy, birth and early days of Liam's life. Cheryl's caring nature and wealth of experience provided us with the information we needed to make educated decisions about my healthcare and birthing options and rights about accepting or declining certain medical options or interventions offered. In addition, Cheryl's guidance of my husband's role in the whole process was invaluable. Not only did he feel much more included in the process, being informed meant he was calmer and prepared for the whole experience (as much as one can ever be of course!).
Once we got home with Liam, as new parents we definitely had that "dear in the headlights" look and we cannot thank Cheryl enough for being there for us from helping us with Liam's first bath to the kind reassuring words that we were doing all the right things and that all the things we were freaking out about were normal (yes, I have learnt MOST things are in fact normal when it comes to newborn babies!). And if that was not enough, Cheryl's kindness also included a nourishing meal of the yummiest lasagne and a gift to top everything off!
I don't know (and certainly don't want to find out) how I would ever have done this without Cheryl as part of our team.”
Give yourself the best chance of a positive birth in a hospital setting. A new book by one of Australias leading doulas, Cheryl Sheriff.
Sharing wisdom from her 30 years experience as a midwife and doula, and her presence at over 1000 hospital births.
After reading this book you will have more direction, and feel confident, excited and less daunted by the experiences to come.
